Ship.



B. B. HARRis.

SHlP.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1917.

Patented 51113710, 1917 li ,2333,22e

h /m Elm: new

- i FFICE.

BERT BENJAMIN HARRIS, or nnwronk, N. Y.

SHIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 1917.

Application filed February 23, 1917. Serial fio. 150,429.

To all 11 7mm may concern:

Be it known that I, BERT BENJAMIN HAR- ms, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of'NeW York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ships; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had ,-to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to ships, but more particularly to the deck construction thereof, and has for its object to provide what may be termed a floating or non-sinka'ble deck so constructed and arranged as will be hereinafter described, so that upon injury to the hip bottom from any cause whatever, which would under usual conditions result in the sinking of the ship, the said flea ting or nonsinkable deck will provide sufficient buoyancy to insure the floating of the ship in a manner which will insure the safety of the lives of passengers and cargo'thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a deck construction for ships so that in case'of fire the entire interior of the ship an be flooded through the usualsea-czuks in order to extinguish, the fire and without danger of sinking the ship.

vi ith these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of thefl-oating and nonsinkable deck and in the provision for a plurality of gas-tight and hcru'ietically sealcd gas tanks, so arranged between the upper and lowerdeck sections or floors so that said gas tankswill impart suliicicnt buoyancy to insure the safe floating of the ship under any and all conditions of damage to the hull or bottom thereof.

The invention consists in certain other novel details of constrlu-tiou and in certain combinations of parts all of which will be first fully described and afterward specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawing-- Figure 1 is a plan view of a'ship illustrating my deck construction,-the top or main deck fioor or section beingremoved.

Fig. :2 .is a transverse vertical sectional view illustrating the deck construction and also illustrating one of the gas tanks positioned therein, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the gas tanks.

Like numerals of reference indicate the same p'arts throughout the several figures, in which 1 indicates a ship of any form, design or construction and 2 indicates the deck 0011- f struction thereof.

As will appear from Figs. 1 dcck construction 2 of the ship includes a lower or bottom fioornor deck section 3 extending through thc entire ship fore and aft and athwartship thereof, the said bottom floor or section 3 being suitably secured to the athwartship timbers or braces -'l and to the fore and all sectional timber or braces 5. The said athwartship braces 4 and fore and aft braces 5 are of sufiicicnt depth to acconn modate aiulrcmj-ive within the compartments (5 thc closed or hermetically sealed gas tanks 7. said gas tanks Tbeing preferably con structcd of a size and shape to snugly fit in cach of the compartments (3. I have shown in the accompanying drawing, a gas I auk 7 ha viug a plugged opening 8 through which hydrogen gas may be forced to the tank 7 and the said tank closed with a suitable plug to insure the retention of the gas within the tank. ldxtcnding over the entire ship and supported upon the athwartship timbers or beams l and the fore and aft timbcrs or beams 33 is a top or upper deck floor or section fl, thc said top floor or deck section 9 effectually closing the compartmcuts (i and rctaiuiug the gas tanks 7 in their proper position between the lower floor or dcck section 3 and the upper floor or deck section 9.

I provide provision for suitable hatchways' 10 through the deck 2, it being of coursc understood. that the number, location and si ncs of the hatchovays 10 will depend entirely upon the size and nature of the ship.

Having thus fully dcscribcd the invention. its operation will be entirely apparent to those skilled in the art. By the application of a deck constructed 'in accordance with this invention. either to an existing ship or one originally applied in the ship, will effectually prevent sinking of the-ship, even though the hull or bottom of the ship and 2, the

is ripped, torn or injured to such an extent that the ship under usual conditions would quickly sink.

By the application of my deck construction to ships, the usual water-tight bulkheads are entirely eliminated, which bulkheads experience has shown do not under certain conditions add safety to the ship or prevent its sinking.

\Vhile I have shown and described what I consider to be the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is evident that the same is susceptible to certain changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts, and I consider nryself clearly entitled to all such changes and modifications as fall within the limit and scope of the appended claims.

What 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the l nited States, is

1. A floating or non-sinkable deck for boats, ships and the like, including! a series oi athwartship beams or timbers, a series of transverse beams or timbers interposed between the said ath 'artship beams or-timbers, a bottom floor or deck section applied under the said timbers an upper or top floor or section applied over the said timbers and said bottom, providing between the said deck floors or sections a plurality of compartments and a gas-tight or hermetically sealed gas tank for each of said compartments be tween the said lower and upper deck floors or sections, substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.

:2. floating or non-sinkable deck for partments substantially as described and [or 7 the purposes set Forth.

In testimony whereof. I allix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

BERT BCXJAMIN HARRIS. Witnesses:

FLounxc-u A. Banana, Mixi-t'r'rn llnuoamxx. 

